Stock markets saw widespread recovery on Friday – both the Bombay Stock Exchange Sensex and the National Stock Exchange Nifty ended on a high as investors awaited the outcome of a Goods and Services Tax Council meeting.
Sensex recovered by 222.19 points to end at a more than two-week high of 31,814.22 after a fresh round of buying. This is the highest closing since September 22, when the BSE index settled at 31,922.44. Nifty also rose 91 points to close at 9,979.70.
Tata Steel, NTPC, Sun Pharma and the State Bank of India were the top gainers on the BSE. Hero MotoCorp and HDFC saw the highest losses. Gail, Tata Steel, Hindalco and Sun Pharma were the top gainers on the NSE index. Infratel, Hero MotoCorp, HDFC and Dr Reddy were the top losers on the Nifty.
European shares traded flat to negative, and the euro weakened as the Catalonia crisis in Spain continued.
Asian stocks rose on Friday after optimism over United States tax reform plans lifted Wall Street shares to new highs. Japan’s Nikkei climbed 0.3%. Australian stocks rose 0.7%.
The rupee opened at 65.20 a dollar. At 4.40 pm, the exchange rate was Rs 65.34 to a dollar.
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